


Flat Tire

by chainrings (crankset)



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bicycles, Bike AU - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 21:25:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11388732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crankset/pseuds/chainrings
Summary: Steve and Danny meet on a training ride.





	Flat Tire

He rode past the plantation and was amazed at the widespread pineapple infestation. It was worse than he’d expected - miles and miles all around - pineapples everywhere. He really didn’t hate the fruit itself except that it was a constant reminder of being stuck in the middle of a massive body of water, on a tiny strip of land and nowhere near Jersey. 

He’d moved for Grace. It had meant transferring to a local Hawaiian based Professional Continental cycling team when Rachel informed him she was moving halfway across the world and taking Grace with her. It wasn’t the best of arrangements, but at least the majority of the team’s training took place in Hawaii. The racing season would have him bouncing all over the US, but so far, he’d managed to stay clear of long stage races and worked his Grace-weekends around the majority of the races. At least Rachel had been accommodating from that perspective. 

He took a left onto Mt. Ka’ala Rd, chose to ignore the private road warning as he lifted his bike over the fence. It was a dirt road but he really wanted to get some climbing in. The dirt looked hard packed and it hadn’t rained in awhile, he figured he should be fine on the road bike. There were other bike tracks which was always a good sign. 

Once he reached the top (or the end of the road as it turned out), he unclipped his feet from the pedals and straddled the bike. It was another beautiful, hot and sunny day in Hawaii. Not much of a surprise. He had to admit that the view was pretty amazing. He reached for a protein bar he had stashed in his jersey’s pocket, as he turned he saw another cyclist down the path. He’d been stranded a few times, and there’s nothing worse than getting caught out on a ride with a mechanical problem. So he rolled up to the man who was fixing a flat tire. 

They were at least forty miles from the city, and by the looks of things, the cyclist had no repair kit with him. Danny had pulled up alongside of him and watched the man stuff the last of the leaves into the tire. Gotta give the guy credit for resourcefulness - Danny had only read about using leaves to patch a flat tire. The tall, dark haired man had taken off his jersey, the sweat glistened off of his skin. Danny was momentarily distracted from the pineapples. He would argue later that it was the fact that it’d been stuffing tree leaves into his tire - the tube discarded long ago - that did it and not the rock-solid, half naked man standing in front of him.

“Hey,” he said as he stopped in front of him, “need a tube? CO2 cartridge? Some more twigs?”

“Leaves. Nah, I’m good, thanks.” The man waved him off politely, with a smile.

“You, my friend, are nowhere close to being in a good spot right now,” Danny watched him put the tire back on the rim, not easy while using a rock instead of a tire lever. “I’d love to see how this plays out. I really would.” 

Danny wasn’t able to keep the smile off of his face as the crazy-man’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. The wheel was back on the bike, jersey back on and they were ready to go.

“So, why don’t you ride ahead, and I’ll just follow you for a bit in case you need more twigs. That OK with you, super scout?”

The man stared at him and nodded, “Sounds good, brah.” 

“Hey, seriously, do you want to borrow - “ and Danny stopped, raised his arms in defeat at the glare he got in return.

“Danny Williams,” he said, figuring it was going to be a long forty mile ride back into town. It wouldn’t be safe to do any serious kind of speed with leaves stuffed in your front wheel.

“McGarrett. Steve McGarrett.” Danny stared at him for a second. The name was familiar, in that he knew he was or had been on a Pro Tour team, but that’s all he knew.

“I’ve heard of you. Who you riding for these days?”

“I’m in between teams at the moment.” Danny wanted to pry the information out of him, it was going to be a long ride back, they had time. He hadn’t gotten any news from the team saying that they’d gotten a new rider. In their defense though, he hadn’t really checked out his emails in a few days.

They started down the dirt road, and it became obvious to Danny that he was following a maniac. 

“McGarrett!” he screamed. “This is not a road! It’s dirt with rock filled ditches - slow down you freak!” Danny doubted Steve had heard a single word.

Danny caught up to him a few seconds later.

“Everything ok? What? You crashed? Do you have any self preservation skills - wait, don’t answer that - it seems pretty clear.” Danny noticed the bloody knee and arm - just some minor scrapes. Lucky bastard.

“It worked!” he beamed, brushing off some dirt off his body. The tire had come off the rim, the leaves were scattered on the road. 

Danny shook his head, “You’re crazy, you know that, right? I think the idea was to go slow and straight home! I don’t think bombing the hill was the right tactical decision here, babe.” Danny dug through his seat bag. “Here’s a tube and a cartridge, stop looking at the trees, we’re not attacking another one.”

Danny threw him the tube and CO2 cartridge and some tire levers, Steve changed the tire in a couple of minutes. Not bad for a guy that probably had a bike mechanic at his beckon call.

They’re were back on the road within a few minutes, each taking turns pulling. Danny was surprised at how well they were working together. 

“Jesus! Warn a guy would you!” Danny had had to jump over a pothole at the last possible second. 

“What, you jumped it fine.”

“It was the size of an impact crater! I would have gone over my bars if I had hit it, and that my friend is how broken collarbones happen and the end of my racing season.”

“You race?” Steve didn’t sound surprised, but Danny couldn’t quite read him.

“Yeah, just a small continental team,” he offered.

“Yeah?”

“Just keep pedaling, we’ve still got another two miles to go before I turn off for home.”

“Hey-”

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing. Are you out for a training ride tomorrow?”

“Team ride on the big Island tomorrow morning, we’ll be there for a few days.” Danny rolled his eyes at the thought of having to island hop to find some good climbs.

They rode in silence the remaining two miles, Steve managed to make a call before Danny turned off towards his apartment. The only thing he’d overheard was: “Yeah, I’ll take it. See you later tonight.”

“Keep the rubber side down, McGarrett,” Danny said just before turning down his street. 

“Okay, I’ll...uh..see you around then.”

“Probably, it’s a small island.” Danny grinned. “Hey, don’t forget your patch kit - I can’t save your ass every day.”

“I would have been fine with the leaves!”

“Just keep telling yourself that!” 

Danny took his turn, and watched Steve ride away. Danny had his evening planned: a shower, a steak the size of Texas and finding out as much as he could about one Steve McGarrett - pro cyclist.

**Author's Note:**

> Just for fun!
> 
> Here’s a short vid that shows how to use leaves to fix a flat tire. I really hope to never ever have to do this in real life :)
> 
> http://www.howcast.com/videos/307273-How-To-Fix-a-Bike-Flat-Without-a-Patch-Kit


End file.
